Yesterday, photos from Ozamiz showing the people bearing banners and placards with the words, “Free Ozamiz, We heart Espenido and We support PNP” circulates online.

But the bigger story to emerge from yesterday’s event in Ozamiz City was the moving testimony of a pastor from Ozamiz who fled the city in 2013 after he and his family were almost killed but the grace of God, cheated death together with his entire family.

Before telling his personal testimony, Pastor Dinoro said the Ozamiz City is a silent city. No one dares to speak against the evil perpetrator of Ozamiz City because people are very much afraid. He mentioned drugs, rape, petty crimes like stealing and corruption in government as crimes prevalent in Ozamiz City.

When people started clapping, he told them to stop because he is running for office. He is different from the politicians who were eased out when the Parojinogs came to power and now after Mayor Aldong is gone, they are jockeying to run for mayor in the next election.

Pastor Dinoro said he was here talking to them because he will run for a political post, but to speak about the old Ozamiz where people dared not speak of the truth.

Dinoro recalled in the 60s 70’s and early 80’s, Ozamiz was a beautiful City; the envy of neighboring cities like Cagayan de oro and Iligan who would visit Ozamiz to study how they did it.. It was until the late 80s when the evil hold sway, then everything crumbled down, it was so bad that the crime rate went up, rape became common thing, robbery, murder and what really broke his heart was seeing all this youth ruined by drugs. He remembered what Jose Rizal said that “the youth is the hope of the nation”. It seemed to be the loss of Ozamis because so many young people are destroyed by drugs.

In the 1990’s the reputation of Ozamiz changed from being the envy in Northern Mindanao to the ‘dirtiest’ city in the Philippines, the home of the Kuratong Baleleng. So much so that Ozamiznons who apply for work outside of Ozamiz are ashamed to declare they are from the city, but claim they are from Oroquieta, Iligan or Tangub City.

He also mentioned that early on, he talked to Aldo/Aldong Parojinog to stop their evil ways for the sake of the people of Ozamis. Mayor Aldong told him he is helpless because he has many ‘dogs’ to feed. There many people involved in illegal drugs, including politicians who are now retired and many are still active. So Pastor Dinoro continued to expose the evils of Aldo. At one point, Pastor Dinoro said the reputation of Ozamiz was so bad that even dogs refuse to eat it.

Out of frustration, he ran for the city council in 2013 but lost. But right after the election, men came and razed down his house, the church where he preached was destroyed, the roof was all gone, his daughter barely escapes being raped and so did his wife, but by the grace of God they were unharmed when police from the region arrived just in time. He mentioned three names (a certain Jimmy Chan, certain Epok and alias Van Damme) who wanted to rape her daughter. The daughter escaped to Manila and now working in Camp Crame. He sent his other child to a far place to hide. The last that broke the proverbial camel’s back was when the Vice-mayor of Ozamiz was murdered. Then, his fellow pastors told him to stop talking against the Parojinogs because they were scared they will earn the ire of his enemies by being fellow pastors. He mentioned his fellow pastors talked about white L300 vans picking them up from Lawis. Pastor Dinoro told them why are they scared to die when they have a place in heaven but none wants to hear any of it.

In the end, he reminded the people to stop voting politicians who give them laptops because these politicians will get their investment back by stealing from government coffers.